Week Four (i) - Istanbul: Interacting with Culture and History

Sun 27.1.13:

The lights of Istanbul: mosques and traffic

Zixiang and I met up at 8am to get to the airport, where I promptly fell asleep while we waited for other people to arrive at the gate. We arrived in Istanbul mid-afternoon and took a boat tour along the Bosphorus, which separates Europe and Asia. Not only did we see several of the mosques and the Bosphorus Bridge illuminated beautifully, we passed the Ciragan Palace, which used to house the sultans of old; now one can stay the night for as little as 300€ (cheap room) and as much as 30,000€ for the 'Sultan Suite'!!!

The Bosphorus Bridge - nearly a mile long!

See how we have walking space? Most rooms didn't

I fell asleep briefly on the tour and awoke when we docked for dinner. We started with a delicious pea soup, mixed vegetables, and various spreads, followed by an entire fish (quite bony, sadly) and then a milk-rice pudding. During the dinner, we learned several slangy/expletive German phrases from Tilo, a native Berliner who joined us on the trip (he has some affiliation to us) such as, "Was ist das für Scheiß?!" aka "What kinda shit is that?!" Afterward, we headed to our hotel, which was fashionably eccentric. It boasted dazzling chandeliers, old typewriters and jukeboxes, and even a parrot! Kennan and I lucked out and happened to get the only suite of all the students - our room was at least 2-3 times the size of everyone else's, and we actually had a walk-in shower with multiple water-stream options, whereas most people had 10sq.ft. showers if at all. Kennan and I made sure to lord it over everyone else (in jest), joking that we were observing 'how the other half lives' as we visited other people's rooms, and offering use of our shower in exchange for massages/food/drinks haha.
After settling in, everyone took off to explore the area. Esther, Lulu, Molly, Sarah, Susan, Peter, and I wandered down to the riverfront, noticing that Istanbul - unlike Berlin - is a very vertical city, which allows wonderful views of the city layout and especially of/across the river. On the waterfront we discovered a playground, so naturally I went down the slides and swung on the swings (standing, I tried to get as nearly horizontal as I could - I'll have to wait for the picture, but it probably wasn't more than 45˚)  :D
After taking a circuitous route back (read: we were lost, and worrying a bit because we saw zero women walking the streets besides the five in our group), I found Kennan with Jodie and Mia and swapped exploration stories, and then Kennan, Tilo, and I were content to listen to the tales and wild ideas of intoxicated Kayo and Lilia, laughing hysterically over the tiniest things.

Mon 28.1.13:
The justification for this trip is learning about Turkey's role as a link between Europe and Asia - between West and East - and its ongoing application to the European Union. Accordingly, we attended several discussions on this topic today. In a nutshell: Turkey has become increasingly conservative since the Cold War; the ruling AKP party's education 'reforms' may in fact reduce education for women; religion is contributing to a divide among the public and in government policy; and despite good economic relations with the West, human rights and standard of living violations prevent Turkey's acceptance into the EU. Then we heard directly from AKP members - very interesting to first hear an outside academic's view of this entity and then hear the politicians themselves defend their image and policies. Due to tiredness, I can't say I paid much attention to this talk or the next, but we did learn about the Sisli area as a center of commerce and trade and how Turkey is mimicking European economic and business models for efficiency and perhaps to increase its chances of acceptance into the EU.
For lunch I tried some several dishes I'd never (or rarely) seen elsewhere, such as stuffed liver (not great here), a fig pudding dessert (Turkish specialty, but won't get it again), and quince (fruity and sugary so therefore delicious). After our third talk, during which nearly everyone napped at some point, we went up to the roof for group photos overlooking the Bosphorus, convened for some tea and light snacks (all day, at each talk, they bombarded us with snacks - I wasn't even hungry for dinner later), and returned to the hotel. We explored the main street near the hotel, noting several shopping and/or food areas (it's a pretty touristy but nightlife-y location), came back and had a pillow fight (read: Kennan and I walloped Kayo and Lilia), and then at 8 we all went to see a whirling dervish ceremony.

Zero idea what this meant... 

Nish, Zippy, and me

We entered the mosque (shoes off) and listened respectfully as our hosts and most other guests held prayer. Then all us guests entered the ceremony room and sat against the wall, noting that the Muslim women were in full headdress and forced to sit upstairs while the men occupied both first floor rooms. It was fascinating to observe the dervishes whirling away with immaculate footwork; they seemed utterly entranced as they spun incessantly for a good hour and a half or two hours (we later learned the significance was to ward off evil). Since the ceremony was so repetitive, and we didn't then know the significance, it was fairly tedious, but I'm definitely glad I was fortunate to witness it. The most rewarding experience of the night, however, was the question-and-answer session that the sheikh invited us to attend immediately afterward.
It began innocently enough, as we asked what he hoped we would take away from the experience. The sheikh communicated several great points about inter-cultural unity, and how understanding and awareness are essential to closer integration and harmony (socially, religiously, etc.). However, many of us were shocked by his answers and the rest of the room's nodded assent when we asked about the conflict between science and religion, but most particularly about gender equality (i.e. why the women had to sit upstairs and cover themselves) and the role of women in Muslim society. The entire room was surprised to learn that we Westerners 'allowed' women to play sports; we were equally taken aback/shocked/outright repulsed when we asked, "Why are your women not allowed to participate in the ceremony, or do other things that men do?" and the sheikh's response was, "Can men become mothers? Can women become fathers? ... Not all things are possible." This seemed especially hypocritical to us, coming right after he contended that Islam preached unity and equality. Overall, what I took away from the encounter was that this intermingling of cultures, as the sheikh said, definitely opened many of our eyes and gave us a better insight into the lives of others. We Westerners innately disagree with the apparent hypocrisy towards and mistreatment of women, but I do recognize that much of that sentiment is built into their culture and they have grown up with such a norm, and so I hesitate to label either belief 'right' or 'wrong.' Rather, I am grateful for this insight into (this particular group of practitioners of) Islam, though of course I hope that in time Muslim women do gain equal rights as men. We finally departed, but long into the night, and for the remainder of the trip, would we discuss our reflections on what we saw and heard tonight.

Tue 29.1.13:
Today we finally had free time to explore the city! After a brief talk, we visited the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia!! My words won't do them justice, so here are some of my pictures:

View of the Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque courtyard with Kennan

Stained glass interior

In front of the Hagia Sofia altar

The low-hanging chandeliers are so beautiful!

For lunch, I joined Bekah, Brianna, Mikaela, and Jonathan at a lovely Turkish restaurant, where we sampled some delicious apple tea and some scrumptious kebabs while lounging in oversized bean bags :) We explored the adjoining underground palace ruins and then proceeded to traverse the streets (Bekah was in Istanbul in November, so she led us to a few of her favorite spots), resulting in a number of fantastic encounters:
 - we convinced one vendor that four of us were in an open relationship, resulting in just "oh"
 - Turkish ice cream has the consistency of taffy or bubble gum, allowing the vendors to play with it, Benihana-style. So, when we tried to buy some, the vendor played with Mikaela (victim one) for a good five minutes, flipping the cone over or pretending to drop it all or performing other sleight of hand maneuvers, to our collective amusement
 - Scarves are ubiquitous here, and quite cheap. But when the girls wanted to look at each one in every store, Jonathan and I got a wee bit tired and threatened to wander off without them
 - Baklava Man! Aka my favorite memory of the entire trip! Bekah specifically forbade us from entering any other baklava shop, and for good reason - this man greeted us enthusiastically, turned up the music, and started a dance party in his shop! He remembered Bekah (perhaps aided by her previous photos), offered us samples and tea, and danced with us to the astonishment of all passerby - we couldn't stop giggling at the thought of the whole thing :)

Exquisitely decorated lanterns from lunch

He's perfected swing as well as the shuffle - so much fun!

 - The New Mosque was just as impressive as the two we saw earlier

New Mosque - stunning architectural design

Sulemaniye Mosque at night

 - We navigated the Spice Bazaar, so overwhelming! Also, poor Jonathan inadvertently knocked over a tea tray, drawing all eyes as it crashed to the floor
 - A candy shop with the best Turkish Delight, 10€/kg!
 - A journal shop where the owner hand-wrote in calligraphy our name in English and Arabic on the cover - very artistic, and fascinating to watch him work
   - Also, in this shop, I shifted my weight and stepped backward... onto a cat! Oh no! I definitely hadn't seen it when we arrived, and I felt so bad as it hissed/meowed mournfully and ran away

Having walked so far to see as much as we could, and having received so much generous hospitality from the Turkish shopkeepers, we were 45minutes late to the group dinner but fortunately didn't miss anything important. The spread began with salad, soup, and a variety of cheeses and dips, followed by a mixed grill of kebab with potatoes and rice - quite exquisite, and by far the best meal of the trip! As part of our cultural immersion, we were joined by several Turkish students from local universities; we had a great time swapping stories (one pair of twins regaled us with their recent travels to Morocco) and hearing about Turkey from a local's perspective. After dinner and baklava (very good, but not quite so good as from our shop earlier), we congregated on the roof for group photos.

Paper lanterns!

Cities are so beautiful at night

Once at the hotel, we wandered the streets for one final bout of shopping, looking primarily for scarves (I really wish I'd got some now) but to no avail. We then met up with one of the Turkish guys from dinner, who had volunteered to take us out to a club, so a bunch of us rallied and went out around 1 haha. Though it was smoky and semi-crowded like most clubs, I enjoyed this one because it played lots of local, unfamiliar music that was fun to dance to. Eventually, and after the inevitable cases of drama, we headed back around 3, and after mingling with Esther, Molly, and Susan, reliving the day's experiences (a few people went to the Hamam, or Turkish baths, where they were scrubbed down and cleaned meticulously - sounded awesome, but I'm glad I spent my afternoon exploring more of the city), I finally crashed around 5.

Wed 30.1.13:
We left the hotel around 10 for one final talk at Aydin University, where we heard about the economic and energy considerations facing Turkey and also interacted directly with students there. My group had two English-fluent engineers, so we had a productive discussion about Turkey's role in the EU (or not) and how its position as a link between West and East affects the balance of power and ideologies. I enjoyed once again having the opportunity to speak with people our age to understand their perspective, and contrast that with what else we've learned here, as it helps gives a more comprehensive view of the country and society.
After the discussion, we headed to the airport, and once home, met up to finish our E40 homework before bed, so I'll end today with some final disconnected thoughts and impressions:
 - Turkish people are quite possibly the nicest people I've ever met. While I understand the street vendors giving free samples as a business model, the overwhelming courtesy and hospitality extended from the Baklava guy and journal shop guy (from both of whom we'd already made our purchases) to the Turkish students (who always insisted on holding the door for us) to strangers on the street (who were curious to talk to us and hear about our lives). I just felt so happy and welcome here
 - On the other hand, there's overwhelming chaos in terms of traffic (not sure if 'lanes' are really a thing here, or if drivers have any regard for traffic flow - our bus, turning left, cut across the right side of traffic, stopping both lanes for a good half-minute as we waited for a pause in which to complete our left-hand turn) and in the bazaars, where vendors would yell (warning: political incorrectness), "Shakira" or "Chocolate baby" or "Beyonce's sister" at Bekah and Brianna, who are part black. Also, one called Jonathan "Al Pacino"
 - So many stray cats! Yes, I stepped on one, but we legitimately saw cats just about everywhere we went
 - Surprising mix of Americanization - we saw hundreds of clearly Turkish restaurants, but a number of American chains as well, which I haven't seen in Berlin
 - Not that I'm complaining, but I felt like every 10th store was a baklava/Turkish delight store. I wonder whether the locals enjoy it that much, or if they sell that much to tourists alone

Hotel chandelier

Hotel lobby view